A contractual offer is accepted even when the acceptor doubts his ability to perform his duties under the contract and asks the offeror for some indulgence.
The case related to an offer to settle a debt incurred by a Lloyd’s name. It is a well-established principle of contract law that an acceptance must be unconditional to make a contract. If the acceptee adds a condition to the offer, he has not accepted the offer but made another offer which the other party may choose to accept. But this does not stop the acceptee accepting the offer and also making a collateral offer. Whether the offeror accepted the collateral offer did not affect the contract already made.
Society of Lloyd’s v Twinn. CA. The Times 4 April 2000
[2000.4/6]